Journey's End

We are back from our annual, family RV trip. This year, we finally made it to the Pacific Northwest. We've been trying to get out there for about 4 years now, and although we've been relatively close twice in that time, we just couldn't get there. Happily, the time was right and we were able to make it. It was a really nice trip, but it was grueling at the end. Three weeks is about one week too long, but when one is so far from home, it just takes forever.

The trip synopsis: We visited friends in Denver. We spent a day at the alpine slide in Winter Park and then it was off into Canada. We drove through Kamploops, had lunch there and stopped for a short time in the park by the river. We drove to Kelowna for supper with a quick visit to the lake. We took a windy, (as in the configuration of the road - not the description of the weather) mountain road to Whistler - a ski resort not too far from Vancouver. After having supper up there, we headed towards Vancouver. We parked the RV in a suburb of Vancouver for about 6 days. We rented a car and tooled around the city. I tried to go to Three Bags Full - a yarn shop there, but it was closed on Mondays. I did go to another one down the street. I forget the name, but it was very small and the selection was not very inspiring. We took the ferry over to Vancouver Island and stayed in Victoria for three days. I really enjoyed visiting Bouchart Gardens. I did go to a great yarn shop called Beehive Wool Shop in Victoria, and I purchased the first of my souvenirs - a hank of Sea Silk by Hand Maiden. It's a really pretty stormy sea (kind of a teal) color and it's enough to make a shawl. Knitting content and pictures will be addressed tomorrow.

After we left the Vancouver area, we headed to Seattle and spent 3 days there, but they were jam-packed days. I had wanted to contact an internet knit buddy while there, but although all the RV parks where we had stayed up to that point (and for the rest of the trip, it seems) had free wifi, it was either down or all the sites were blocked. (I found that one quite odd.) It was quite maddening not to be able to access my e-mail and my contact information. While in Seattle, I did manage to go to one knit shop (there are quite a few in the area), and it is a rather famous one in the knitting world, Tricoter. (www.tricoter.com - I don't know how to add links in my text yet; so, pardon my ignorance.) It was heavenly. Both of the owners were there and were so welcoming and hospitable. The shop is artfully arranged, and they carry some really nice yarns. The owners have done quite a bit of designing, and have published several books of their designs. I highly recommend visiting this shop if you are in the Seattle area. It was nice to sit down and knit and talk to women. I had a wonderful, though short, time there. We left Seattle, drove by Mt. St. Helen's, and then headed to the Oregon coast. We drove along the mid-coast for about 100 miles and it took several hours, as we stopped many times along the way. Before beginning the journey home in earnest, we stopped at Crater Lake. It was beautiful. Actually, it was beautiful everywhere we went and the weather was awesome! It was cool, dry and sunny. Towards the end of our trip, we were hearing about the start of the 100 degree days back in Texas, and we dreaded coming back to that.

We got home late Tuesday night. I spent most of Wednesday washing (and not making a dent in the piles in the laundry room). I went back to work on Thursday. Our inpatient census went up while I was away, and it was a little crazy trying to catch up on 20 patients between the two hospitals. We signed off quite a few cases yesterday; so, hopefully Monday won't be wild. Since I never work on the weekend, I never know what is waiting for me until I hit the hospital. It's always an adventure.

Here is one knitting-related picture. I was sewing up some little mitts that I made, and the yarn broke:




I was not impressed, to say the least. I wonder what will happen when I try to wash these things.

I don't even know the name of this yarn. I've lost the ball band. I got this and the fancy yarn that I used for the cuffs of these mitts at "Stitch-n-Pitch" in May. A better picture is coming tomorrow.

(Why tomorrow? Because the pictures I took with my camera are not very good, and I just loaded the program for uploading pics from the digital camera to the computer tonight, and the lighting is not good now for picture taking.)

Anyway, I will leave you with a few vacation pics:

This view of a BC ferry boat, going the opposite way, shows Mt. Ranier in the background. That's as close as we got to that mountain. On the day that we were leaving Seattle and were intending to visit, it was quite foggy. We proceeded to Mt. St. Helen's instead.



Here is a picture of my son on the ferry. He tends to make friends wherever he goes. Mostly, they are of the female persuasion.


I am standing outside the very first Starbucks store in Seattle.














Kenny is standing dangerously close to the cliff along the Oregon coast.



I am standing far from the edge of the Oregon coast.














Can you believe this lake was formed after a volcano caved in? It is one of the deepest lakes in the world.













I now bid you goodnight. I will return (for real, this time) tomorrow.

A New Skill

And now....remembering that she does have a blog...we bring you Merry Karma!!!

She will attempt to wow you with her new skill:




Can you see this poor little zinnia plant? Can you tell that it has no leaves? Sorry for the crappy picture. I took it with my cellphone. There is a digital camera in the house, but I don't know how to get the pictures from it to my computer yet. This blogging thing is a one-step-at-a-time venture for me. I tend to learn technological things on a "need to know" basis.

Try this one:




See the pink plant in the front? It looks a little rough.

Here's another:



So, my next entry likely will include knitting content. I've been doing a little of that lately. Work was quite busy this past week, but the weekend has been very laid back. I mostly worked on the edging of an afghan for a wedding gift. I also am figuring out how to knit two socks at one time on the Magic Loop. (Hi Amy! I think I figured it out.)

Gotta go to bed now. This technology stuff wears out a body!

Mercury Rising

…And I don’t mean the astrological kind. Not that I am opposed to topics astrological. I read my “horror”scope daily, just to see what kind of day I should be having.

I don’t mean the outside temperature kind either. Although, it has been quite a bit warmer since Wednesday. (We've had more sunshine and less rain.)

No, I am referring to the millimeters of mercury found within a sphygmomanometer, otherwise known as a blood pressure cuff. Since January 2006, I have not been exercising regularly. The treadmill went on the blink back then, and the exercise room morphed into the junk room; so, my fitness efforts were seriously thwarted. My exercising had to be worked around the weather, since my weather-proof options were no longer available. Coupled with the irregular exercising was the stress eating (for various reasons). Long story short, two months ago, I noticed that I had gained a few pounds and that my blood pressure reading had moved away from the 120/70 range. It hasn’t reached a critical point yet, by any means, but being a health care provider, I am not happy with this state of affairs. Hypertension runs in my family; so, I have to be extra careful. I started with cutting down on added salt. A month ago, I finally found a good fitness routine that is painless and easy to fit into my schedule without worrying about the weather.

Things were going merrily along, I thought, until a week ago, when I stepped on the scales for the first time in several weeks. I hadn’t lost a.n.y weight. In fact, I had gained a pound. And my blood pressure wasn't too pretty either.

I'm not through sulking.

Birthday Fairy Gone Bad

When I was a bachelorette, I prided myself in the fact that I would remember the birthdays of all the important people in my life.

If you are a friend of mine, are reading this post and are thinking, “Hmm…Haven’t gotten a card from Merry Karma in…years…” don’t despair. You are not the only one. I even started rubber stamping just so I would have plenty of cute, little cards around to send out to my friends and family for birthdays and other occasions of note. The supplies are stored neatly in a closet upstairs.

I am sorry to say that all my good habits have fallen by the wayside. I am trying to do better, but as they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”

All this to send a birthday shout out to my OB/Gyn. She knows who she is. Happy Birthday to you, Dr. W. Hope you had a good one!

Merry Karma's Garden

I didn't write anything yesterday because I was out enjoying the sunshine and running all the errands I haven't done in the last week because of the rain. It is sunny again today (Yay!) and I thought I would do a little weeding.

For the record, I am *not* a gardener. I kept two African violets healthy for a couple of years while I was in college, but that is my only claim to any semblance of gardening ability. I don't play in the dirt, I don't know nuthin' about what flowers to plant where. Heck, there are many flowers I see out in the world, and I don't know what they are called. I just call the landscaper, have him come over, I point to the places I want flowers, tell him colors I like and then ...poof!...I have a garden. It's like magic.

So, given all this info, you may be asking yourself, "Wha?!? Did she say 'weeding'?" Why, yes I did. The mood strikes every now and then. I really like pulling out nut grass. I don't really know why, and don't want to think about what that might say about me, but I do like pulling out the nut grass.

This morning, I noticed that there is a patch of groundcover in the front where a healthy crop of nut grass was looking rather hardy. So, I went out there and starting pulling it out. It was quite satisfying, really. As I was walking back up the driveway, I noticed that my zinnias were looking pretty as ever....except for their leaves. Some of the leaves had a few holes in them, some had lots of holes...but some of the zinnias had no leaves left.

Merry Karma is not feeling too merry about that.

And being that I am not a gardener, I don't know what to do about it.

When I learn how to post pictures, I will show you the evidence.

Rain, Rain Go Away

I've lost count of how many days in a row we have had rain. We've exceeded our yearly average, but there is more rain in the five-day forecast. I suppose it's better than the 60 days of 100+ degree weather we had last summer, but it's beginning to wear on me. I would like to wash my car soon, if that's not asking too much. I am not a fan of the running errands in the rain. Getting in and out of the car without getting wet is rather tricky.

And let's not think about the havoc the humidity plays on ma her. (That's Texan for "my hair.") I always wished for curly hair when I was a youngun. I would get perms in my late teens/early adulthood - and they were truly a site to behold. Thankfully, I do not have pictoral documentation to share with you.

In a cruel twist of fate (Karma is a bitter pill to swallow, afterall) I have my curly hair now. Yep, now that my hormones have whacked out and I am on that slippery slope headed towards mature woman. I have c.u.r.l.y hair. Especially now...when I would like to have really straight hair. I do own a flat iron, and in the winter, I do straighten my hair. In the summer, however, with the humidity - not worth it. So, I just wash, scrunch and let it go. When it is especially humid, as it has been these several weeks, it gets really fuzzy on top of the curly.

Now, that's a look.

The one good thing about this weather is that, instead of not getting things done around the house because it is too pretty to stay inside, I have gotten farther along in my mission to decrapify my home. Yippee! Of course, those who know me also know that it is my neverending battle...but that's a post for another day.

Another good thing about this weather is that I can stay inside and knit. There's nothing like settling down, all warm and cozy with some yummy yarn.

And on that note...I think I'll go knit, since this rain is not.going.away.